Ni—Cr—Nb—P—B alloys demonstrating a critical rod diameter of 3 mm or larger have been disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/592,095, entitled “Bulk Nickel-Based Chromium and Phosphorus Bearing Metallic Glasses”, filed on Aug. 22, 2012, Ser. No. 14/067,521, entitled “Bulk Nickel-Based Chromium and Phosphorus Bearing Metallic Glasses with High Toughness”, filed on Oct. 30, 2013, and Ser. No. 14/540,815, entitled “Bulk Nickel-Chrome-Phosphorus Glasses Bearing Niobium and Boron Exhibiting High Strength and/or Thermal Stability of the Supercooled Liquid”, filed on Nov. 13, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. In these applications, peaks in glass forming ability are identified at a chromium (Cr) content ranging from 5 to 10 atomic percent, a niobium (Nb) content ranging from 3 to 3.5 atomic percent, a boron (B) content of about 3 atomic percent, and a phosphorus (P) content of about 16.5 atomic percent. Bulk metallic glass rods with diameters as large as 11 mm can be formed within those ranges.
Although both applications state that the substitution of Ni or Cr by Fe, Co, or Cu of up to 2 atomic percent may not impair the glass forming ability of the disclosed alloys, neither application addresses the potential of glass formation in the Ni—Fe—Cr—Nb—P—B, where Fe concentrations of up to 15 atomic percent are included or glass formation in the Ni—Co—Cr—Nb—P—B, where Co concentrations of up to 30 atomic percent are included.